EastEnders bosses were forced to call in the police after a 14-year-old boy waged a ‘sickening’ hate campaign against the show’s cast and crew.

The teenager targeted more than a dozen EastEnders stars (Picture: BBC)

Staff received highly abusive messages and vile emails from the teenager â who has been issued with a formal warning, a youth version of a police caution – at an ‘alarming rate’, which led to some of the abuse appearing online.

A soap source told the Daily Mirror: ‘It was the talk of the set for several months and a lot of people were frightened.

‘This person was emailing specific details about EastEndersâ staff and there was also sickening abuse appearing online on lots of different forums. It got very serious and the showâs bosses in particular were getting a lot of grief over decisions being made.

‘It was like this poster was on the set with some of the detail he knew.

‘At first it looked like a group of angry, vicious viewers but as it got more sinister we looked into it and found it was just one sick individual.’

He is thought to have targeted more than a dozen stars of EastEnders, but the show sent a let to staff confirming he had been cautioned by police.

EastEndersâ company manager Carolyn Weinstein wrote in the note: ‘He operated under a significant number of multiple identities and conducted the abusive harassment over a lengthy period of time across numerous platforms â emails to BBC staff, forums and BBC message boards.

‘He created the false impression that numerous people were engaging in abusive and negative conversations on our site, as well as other forums.

‘We trust the action taken on this matter shows we will not tolerate the abuse or bullying of our staff and treat their welfare with the utmost seriousness.’